title: The effect of Boswellia Serrata on neurorecovery following diffuse axonal injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This pilot trial was conducted to establish whether Boswellia Serrata (BS), a traditional herbal medicine, could improve the outcome of patients who have diffuse axonal injury (DAI).
  
  
  METHODS
  In total, 38 patients with pure DAI were enrolled in this 12-week, double-blind, randomized, cross-over study. The patients were randomly assigned to receive either placebo (group A, n = 20) or BS capsules (group B, n = 18) for 6 weeks and then switched to the other intervention for another 6 weeks. The disability rating scale (DRS) was used to assess the outcome at 2-, 6- and 12-weeks post-trauma.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A non-significant trend for improvement of DRS total scores was observed after the use of BS. Regarding the DRS sub-scores, however, there was significant improvement in 'cognitive ability to self-care' during the second 6 weeks in group A on BS compared to an insignificant spontaneous recovery in group B during the same period on placebo. Moreover, both groups experienced a close-to-significant increase in the cognitive function-related items of the DRS during the periods they were on BS. The reported adverse events were all of mild quality and had similar frequency between the groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that BS resin does not significantly affect general outcome, but may enhance the cognitive outcome of patients with DAI.
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Noor Hospital, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences , Isfahan , Iran .
authors.forename: Payam
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Moein
authors.forename: Salman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abbasi Fard
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Asnaashari
authors.forename: Hajar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Baratian
authors.forename: Majid
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barekatain
authors.forename: Naser
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tavakoli
authors.forename: Houshang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moein
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000328:Adult; D029743:Boswellia; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D020833:Diffuse Axonal Injury / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000379:methods; D010865:Pilot Projects; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012648:Self Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D028321:Plant Preparations